Some Thoughts on ICTs in a Developing World Context

Michael Gurstein, Ph.D.

Editor-in-chief <[email protected] > 

Much of the attention concerning ICT use in Less Developed Countries (LDC’s) has focused on the issue of “access”, that is the availability of the means to physically link to the Internet or to electronically interact via the Internet through some technical facilitation of that connection as discussed at some length in Ashraf et al’s.article. This is clearly an issue of general significance since in the absence of such a means to “connect”, no other issues concerning the opportunities (or limitations) presented by Internet enabled communications or digital processing are feasible.

Specifically at the level of physical connection the issues of the availability (and usability) of such access through facilities that are geographically convenient and within the financial means of even the poorest presents overwhelming arguments for publicly initiated and supported “access facilities”. Arnold et al’s interesting paper in the current issue explores some of the social and organizational issues that might be involved both in Developed and Less Developed Countries in achieving widespread IcT “access” at the local level.

At the larger “system” level, the balancing and realization of equitable costs of regional and national interconnection i.e. the linkage of local service provision to the global telecommunications network remains a cause of concern for many countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa as might be explored through Adeyinka’s article. These issues are being continuously redefined as the capacity of the global network responds to the ever-escalating requirement for additional capacity (bandwidth) driven both by increased numbers of users and by increasingly bandwidth intensive applications and content.

Additionally, discussions are increasingly recognizing that the Digital Divide is often but a symptom of other “divides” limiting the “accessibility” of Internet based services such as levels of literacy and numeracy, location and geography (with rural and remote areas being particularly ill-served), education and skill levels, gender and (physical) ability.

Some, particularly (but not exclusively) in Developed Countries are using skill or (in some cases privileged) access to knowledge, capital and an existing advanced technology infrastructure to realize enormous benefits for themselves and their organizations through the use of the Internet and related technologies. As well, these technologies are providing enormous benefits to consumers and to the range of users. The challenge in Less Developed Countries is to extend to the widest possible range of users the opportunities that ICTs present. What this means in practical terms is that not only is there the need and the social responsibility for citizens to have ready and equitable “access” to the Internet but they must also have access to the means to use the Internet in productive and meaningful ways.

It must also be recognized that Indigenous Peoples (IPs) represent a significant portion of the “underdeveloped” populations in the world (including in both Developed and Less Developed Countries) and that they have exceptional difficulties (and opportunities) in relation to ICTs. In many cases IP’s suffer a cascade of difficulties in relation to their participation as equal partners in the Information Society and knowledge economies. IP’s are disproportionately found in rural and remote areas; their traditional groupings often straddle national boundaries; their traditional geographic locales are often in areas of particular environmental or economic vulnerability; while their languages and cultures distinguish them from others in their societies. In these contexts, access to ICTs and the Internet often present signicant barriers and yet it is precisely through the use of ICTs that impoverished economic and social conditions can most effectively be alleviated. ICTs provide a means through which IPs may participate as equal members in the larger society and realise their aspirations for self-management and self-determination.

The Internet allows for the distribution of intelligence and empowerment to the edges of the network. There thus is a natural correspondence between ICTs and opportunities and movements toward local self-management and empowerment. Where Community Informatics in many instances in Less Developed Countries may fit seamlessly into long-standing processes of local self-management CI offers a range of new opportunities for facilitating effective participation by grassroots and other communities in broader regional and national economic, social and political processes. All of which suggests the need that CI strategies be introduced and supported in the design and deployment of technical and related organizational and governance systems as we can infer from the Bruce et al article in our current issue.

There has been a dramatic decline in the cost of computing hardware in LDCs as elsewhere (including, among other devices, the One Laptop per Child PC). While this development brings access to personal computing into the income range of a larger number in the Developing world, it also serves to highlight the excessive cost of Internet access in many of these same countries resulting from in many cases managed pricing or lack of competition. Developed countries as part of broader strategies to promote deregulation and development should be targeting these areas both at the national and the global inter-connectivity levels and as well be supporting the development of additional global capacity as a way of competitively driving down access costs to those that can be afforded at the local community level. Wong’s article although dealing with the Canadian context adds a very useful Wifi dimension to this discussion.

Many of the services which in Developed Countries have been computer based, are in LDC’s cellular telephone based. Electronic funds transfer, electronic purchasing, rapid information transfer concerning local markets and so on have now, through popular use (and popular innovation) become cellular services. These developments can be understood (as is Gagnon’s article) as being available for integration and extension within the variety of “more structured” CI development initiatives as cellular services in LDC’s.

While not generally understood under the rubric of ICTs, Community Radio is nevertheless one of the most effective tools available for information dissemination and community involvement. Notably new organizational and technology developments (including linkages with the Internet) have extended the capability of Community Radio. Developments in Developed Countries may provide directions (as suggested by Bodnar’s article) as to how Community Radio and other not for profit media initiatives might usefully be structured so as to support social development and innovation.

This issue is wide ranging—moving from Australia through Nigeria to the two coasts of Canada and back to Africa again. It covers telecentres and wireless, learning and the theoretical basis for community based technology initiatives. It presents the diversity of Community Informatics and through the range of discussions including theory, practice and policy the variety of sources and influences that are streaming into the CI discourse.